Toxicity, overload, and anxiety: predictors of turnover intention in higher education faculty
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Abstract
Toxic workplace environments, excessive role demands, and financial anxiety are growing challenges in higher education, undermining lecturers’ well-being and increasing turnover intention. These issues are particularly evident in private institutions, where limited resources and job insecurity often intensify stressors. This study examines the influence of toxic workplace environment and work-role overload on turnover intention among lecturers in private higher education institutions in Lampung, with financial anxiety tested as a moderating variable. A total of 120 questionnaires were distributed through online and offline approaches, and after data cleaning, 102 valid responses were analysed. Data were processed using SPSS 26, with descriptive statistics, reliability testing, and correlation analysis conducted as preliminary steps. All constructs demonstrated strong internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.70. Results from Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA) revealed that toxic workplace environment (β = 0.34, p < 0.01) and work-role overload (β = 0.41, p < 0.001) had significant positive effects on turnover intention. Moreover, financial anxiety significantly moderated the relationship between toxic workplace environment and turnover intention (β = 0.28, p < 0.05). These findings underscore the importance of addressing workplace stressors and financial concerns to reduce turnover intention and support healthier, more sustainable academic environments
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How to Cite
Pariyanti, E., & Puspitasari, M. (2025). Toxicity, overload, and anxiety: predictors of turnover intention in higher education faculty. Enrichment : Journal of Management, 15(4), 445-453. https://doi.org/10.35335/enrichment.v15i4.2380
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Bothma, C. F. C., & Roodt, G. (2013). The validation of the turnover intention scale. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v11i1.507
Boxall, P., & Macky, K. (2014). High-involvement work processes, work intensification and employee well-being. Work, Employment and Society, 28(6), 963–984. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013512714
Hearn, J. C., & Burns, R. (2021). Contingent Faculty Employment and Financial Stress in Public Universities. Journal of Higher Education, 92(3), 331–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2020.1851570
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Iqbal, J., Asghar, A., & Asghar, M. Z. (2022). Effect of Despotic Leadership on Employee Turnover Intention: Mediating Toxic Workplace Environment and Cognitive Distraction in Academic Institutions. Behavioral Sciences, 12(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12050125
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Pariyanti, E., Adawiyah, W. R., & Wulandari, S. Z. (2023). We need to talk about kinship: How kinship weakens turnover intentions among academicians at private higher education institutions in Indonesia. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 15(4). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-04-2022-0118
Pariyanti, E., Adawiyah, W. R., Wulandari, S. Z., & Febriyanto. (2022). Organizational Justice, Job stress, and Cyberloafing: The Moderating Role of Islamic Workplace Spirituality. Journal of Behavioral Science, 17(3), 90–105.
Pariyanti, E., Rosid, A., & Adawiyah, W. R. (2022). Workplace deviant behavior among employees of Islamic-based universities in Lampung: the moderating role of Islamic workplace spirituality. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14(4), 1567–1591. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-03-2021-0089
Rakhmani, I. (2021). Reproducing Academic Insularity in a Time of Neo-liberal Markets: The Case of Social Science Research in Indonesian State Universities. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 51(1), 64–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2019.1627389
Rana, A., Iqbal, M. S., & Rana, A. (2024). Impact of Monetary Management on Nurses’ Turnover Decisions: The Mediating Role of Job Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Resilience. Jnmp, 4(1), 42–53.
Runfeng, Z., Yongfeng, Z., Jiangyi, C., & Peng, S. (2025). Money comes, money goes—does stress follow suit? A longitudinal and nonlinear perspective on workers’ financial stress. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 44(1).
Sholikhah, Z., Adawiyah, W. R., Pramuka, B. A., & Pariyanti, E. (2023). Can spiritual power reduce online cheating behavior among university students ? The fraud triangle theory perspective. Journal of International Education in Business, 17(1), 82–106. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-11-2022-0082
Üngüren, E., Onur, N., Demirel, H., & Tekin, Ö. A. (2024). The Effects of Job Stress on Burnout and Turnover Intention: The Moderating Effects of Job Security and Financial Dependency. Behavioral Sciences, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14040322
Van Der Heijden, B., Mahoney, C. B., & Xu, Y. (2019). Impact of job demands and resources on nurses’ burnout and occupational turnover intention towards an age-moderated mediation model for the nursing profession. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112011
Xu, J. Bin, Zheng, Q. X., Jiang, X. M., Zhuo, Q., Nian, J. X., & Wang, J. T. (2023). Mediating effects of social support, mental health between stress overload, fatigue and turnover intention among operating theatre nurses. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01518-z
Bakker, A. B., & de Vries, J. D. (2021). Job Demands–Resources theory and self-regulation: new explanations and remedies for job burnout. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 34(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2020.1797695
Baquero, A. (2023). Hotel Employees’ Burnout and Intention to Quit: The Role of Psychological Distress and Financial Well-Being in a Moderation Mediation Model. Behavioral Sciences, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13020084
Blau, P. M. (2017). Exchange & power in social life transaction. New York: Routledge.
Borst, R. T., & Knies, E. (2023). Well-Being of Public Servants Under Pressure: The Roles of Job Demands and Personality Traits in the Health-Impairment Process. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 43(1), 159–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X211052674
Bothma, C. F. C., & Roodt, G. (2013). The validation of the turnover intention scale. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v11i1.507
Boxall, P., & Macky, K. (2014). High-involvement work processes, work intensification and employee well-being. Work, Employment and Society, 28(6), 963–984. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013512714
Hearn, J. C., & Burns, R. (2021). Contingent Faculty Employment and Financial Stress in Public Universities. Journal of Higher Education, 92(3), 331–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2020.1851570
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 1–23.
Iqbal, J., Asghar, A., & Asghar, M. Z. (2022). Effect of Despotic Leadership on Employee Turnover Intention: Mediating Toxic Workplace Environment and Cognitive Distraction in Academic Institutions. Behavioral Sciences, 12(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12050125
Kanu, G. C., Ugwu, L. E., Ogba, F. N., Ujoatuonu, I. V., Ezeh, M. A., Eze, A., … Ugwu, L. I. (2022). Psychological Contract Breach and Turnover Intentions Among Lecturers: The Moderating Role of Organizational Climate. Frontiers in Education, 7(March), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.784166
Karanja, B., Juma, D., & Wekesa, S. O. (2025). The Influence Of Work Life Balance On Intention To Leave Among Staff In Public Universities In Kenya, 9(7), 162–169.
Lait, J., & Wallace, J. E. (2002). Stress at work: A study of organizational-professional conflict and unmet expectations. Relations Industrielles, 57(3), 463–490. https://doi.org/10.7202/006886ar
Lauroza, B. A., Cyries, A., Lotis, A., Alexandra, M., Malana, R., Pabilan, M. E., … Paster, A. B. (2025). Unraveling Struggles: The Lived Experiences of Full-Time Faculty Members with Role Overload. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation, 06(03). Retrieved from www.allmultidisciplinaryjournal.com
McGeown, C., & Barry, J. (2023). Agents of (un)sustainability: democratising universities for the planetary crisis. Frontiers in Sustainability, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1166642
Pariyanti, E. (2025). Building lecturer resilience through Islamic workplace spirituality: addressing the impact of toxic work environments and financial anxiety on turnover intentions. International Journal of Ethics and Systems. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-02-2025-0085
Pariyanti, E., Adawiyah, W. R., & Wulandari, S. Z. (2023). We need to talk about kinship: How kinship weakens turnover intentions among academicians at private higher education institutions in Indonesia. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 15(4). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-04-2022-0118
Pariyanti, E., Adawiyah, W. R., Wulandari, S. Z., & Febriyanto. (2022). Organizational Justice, Job stress, and Cyberloafing: The Moderating Role of Islamic Workplace Spirituality. Journal of Behavioral Science, 17(3), 90–105.
Pariyanti, E., Rosid, A., & Adawiyah, W. R. (2022). Workplace deviant behavior among employees of Islamic-based universities in Lampung: the moderating role of Islamic workplace spirituality. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14(4), 1567–1591. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-03-2021-0089
Rakhmani, I. (2021). Reproducing Academic Insularity in a Time of Neo-liberal Markets: The Case of Social Science Research in Indonesian State Universities. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 51(1), 64–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2019.1627389
Rana, A., Iqbal, M. S., & Rana, A. (2024). Impact of Monetary Management on Nurses’ Turnover Decisions: The Mediating Role of Job Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Resilience. Jnmp, 4(1), 42–53.
Runfeng, Z., Yongfeng, Z., Jiangyi, C., & Peng, S. (2025). Money comes, money goes—does stress follow suit? A longitudinal and nonlinear perspective on workers’ financial stress. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 44(1).
Sholikhah, Z., Adawiyah, W. R., Pramuka, B. A., & Pariyanti, E. (2023). Can spiritual power reduce online cheating behavior among university students ? The fraud triangle theory perspective. Journal of International Education in Business, 17(1), 82–106. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-11-2022-0082
Üngüren, E., Onur, N., Demirel, H., & Tekin, Ö. A. (2024). The Effects of Job Stress on Burnout and Turnover Intention: The Moderating Effects of Job Security and Financial Dependency. Behavioral Sciences, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14040322
Van Der Heijden, B., Mahoney, C. B., & Xu, Y. (2019). Impact of job demands and resources on nurses’ burnout and occupational turnover intention towards an age-moderated mediation model for the nursing profession. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112011
Xu, J. Bin, Zheng, Q. X., Jiang, X. M., Zhuo, Q., Nian, J. X., & Wang, J. T. (2023). Mediating effects of social support, mental health between stress overload, fatigue and turnover intention among operating theatre nurses. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01518-z